Frequently Asked Questions

about Fast Newsletters

The following FAQs will orient you to Fast Newsletters — real estate newsletters for agents, investors, and brokerages.

We write complete, ready-to-go newsletters; you send them yourself. Use them "as-is" in just minutes, or customize them as you like.

*Our email newsletters require using a free (or paid) Mailchimp marketing account. Our print newsletters are designed in Microsoft Word, Publisher and Pages.

Each month, you'll log in and download fresh newsletters from our site in email or print (depending on your subscription). Then you'll customize them as you like (or not, they work great right out of the box, too).

You send the email newsletters through Mailchimp, and the print newsletters using your own print/mail resources.
We partner with Mailchimp because they're the lowest cost and best known email service provider.

Mailchimp allows you to customize your HTML newsletters and send them to 2,000 contacts as well as your social media accounts—all for free.

Mailchimp also integrates with many real estate CRMs, offers contact management, and automation.
Each email marketing platform has it's own idiosyncrasies that make importing HTML difficult or impossible. So you MAY be able to export the email newsletter into another email marketing system, but it's unlikely.

On the other hand, you can more often import the email newsletter into a CRM (not an email marketing service), and use your CRM's emailing functions. For instance, if you use LionDesk, see this video. This method allows you to bypass the extra costs of an email marketing service which will kick in if your mailing list is greater than 2,000 people.

Also, many popular CRM's have an integration with Mailchimp. Once the two are integrated (through an automatic process), your Mailchimp list and CRM will be in sync.
Yes and no...

You can create a PDF of your print newsletter, then email it as an attachment. But there's not much advantage to using this approach. You still need an email list. You still need to create an email that you're going to attach the newsletter to. Something like "Hi, John. I hope you like my attached newsletter! Click to open it."

Unfortunately, your open rates will be significantly lower using this method. So the answer is that yes, you can send your print newsletter via email, but you probably don't gain anything by doing it that way.
We use Microsoft Word because it's the most common desktop software, and most people have it installed on their computers. Apologies to Mac users who have chosen not to install Word. We do offer our 4-page Print newsletter in PAGES. We also offer all versions of the print newsletter in Publisher.
Yes, but only the bare minimum is needed to get your newsletter ready to print.

If you wish to do more in-depth customization and branding, you will need slightly higher skills in using Word. Most editing can be done using copy, cut, paste, and insert. We provide easy-to-follow tutorials.
Sending is not included in the basic subscription price. However, we offer a Mailchimp management service for your email newsletters (not print at this time), for an additional $20/mo. You can add that to your subscription when you sign up.
No. Our content is designed to be interesting, but generic. Our goal is to keep readers engaged, so you stay top of mind.

However, you can customize anything you like in our newsletters. Nothing is locked. We recommend that you add one of your own blog posts, local stats, a new listing, a testimonial, etc.

We also provide a full report as a PDF which is pre-inserted into your newsletters once per month. That report can be customized, too.
No, we find that most real estate agents have small lists (under 300 people), making the chances of overlapping with any other agent in your area quite small.

Since our Fast Newsletters subscriber agents are spread across the US, Canada, Australia, and India, we have yet to come close to saturating any one town.

In fact, a key source of new agent subscribers for us are other satisfied agents who refer their friends in the business.
Your newsletters are always available on your Fast Newsletters account page, and you can log in anytime to get the newsletter. We release a fresh version of the newsletter on the 15th, two weeks prior to the month of issue. (eg. On March 15 we release the April issue.) We recommend that you add a recurring reminder to your calendar on the date that you like to work on your newsletters, along with your login details.
Our payment portal is Chargebee, an online secure payment portal. Fast Newsletters does not handle, see, manage, or store your credit card information. Chargebee manages all credit card information. For more information about Chargebee see: http://chargebee.com
We make every attempt to create a flawless product. However, different computers and different versions of Microsoft Word might interpret our templates differently. If you have issues with alignment, or any other issue with how to use our newsletters, please send an email to: admin@fastnewsletters.com. We will respond within 24 hours. (Though usually much faster.)
We want to help any way we can. We’re a small outfit, so we don't offer call-in phone support. However, we respond quickly by email at admin@fastnewsletters.com or use our contact form. If you would like us to call you back, please include your phone number and a good time to get back to you (let us know what time zone you're in).
While we would hate to see you go, we understand that things happen and you no longer need us. You can either cancel your newsletter yourself by logging into your Fast Newsletters account. Click on the name of your plan (in the white box). Then you have the option to pause or cancel your subscription.

Or you can email us at admin@fastnewsletters.com and say Cancel My Subscription. Add your name and phone number so we can cross reference your email to your account. We will cancel the subscription within 24 hours. If your cancellation is received in our email inbox within 30 days of your initial order, we will also refund your initial fee.
We do not use content that has been previously copyrighted. The content is all 100% original as written by us, or it is public domain free content which we have revised to fit, or it is curated content (a brief summary followed by a link to the original source). The content is copyrighted within the context of the Fast Newsletter as an original work, licensed to each user who has subscribed to our service. You may use the content only in your newsletter or other private mailings, and the content cannot be resold in any form. The content is not licensed for distribution on the internet or in your blog. You can post your entire newsletter on your own website in an archives page.
The newsletter is fully customizable. You can replace the content in any of the boxes. You can change the title, add listing images, use your own articles, change the calls to action, etc. Nothing is locked.
No, it is illegal to use copy taken from Fast Newsletters on your personal blog. Our usage license only allows use in a newsletter sent to a contact list (not internet distribution on a blog).

However, you can offer our "free reports" on your website library, as an incentive to get someone to sign up to your own mailing list. You are also welcome to add complete newsletters to a library on your website.
You can access your own account to make most changes. Log into Fast Newsletters, then click My Account. You can also email us directly to ask us to make changes for you.

START GROWING WITH FAST NEWSLETTERS

We're excited to offer this simple, yet extremely powerful newsletter tool to help you steadily grow your business.